As is commonly known, heat exchangers are employed in vehicles to cool air and engine components. Heat exchangers can include a plastic or aluminum tank connected to the heat exchanger assembly. A header is disposed intermediate the heat exchange assembly and the tank and is typically formed from an aluminum or an aluminum alloy. A seal is typically disposed intermediate the header and the tank to mitigate leakage of air.
However, the aluminum of the header easily corrodes, which minimizes an integrity of an interface between the header and the tank, and thus limits the life of the heat exchanger. Known assemblies have attempted solutions to avoid corrosion. For example, in Japanese Patent Application No. JPS58-179797, the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated in its entirety herein, employs an aluminum iron plate. The aluminum iron plate covers an outer surface of the interface between the tank and the header.
In another example, Japanese Patent Application No. JPS58-187798 discloses a low voltage metal layer with a low electrode potential with a thickness of 20 to 80 microns formed over the entire surface of the tank formed from plastic. In yet another example, Japanese Patent Application No. JPU S56-169195, the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated in its entirety herein, describes the use of a low electrode metal element inserted in the inlet portion of the tank and in contact with the header.
However, the above-mentioned solutions maximize manufacturing and assembly complexity and costs, which is undesired.
Accordingly, it is desired to have a heat exchanger tank assembly formed from minimal components that minimizes manufacturing and assembly costs and minimizes leakage.